The VDCs conduct auctions for sand mining from local streams and rivulets and belt shops. District officials have failed to control the illegal activities of VDCs.
Adilabad: With the village development committees (VDCs) playing a crucial role in sarpanch elections, political parties are trying hard to control these extra-constitutional bodies.
The BRS government had announced incentives for electing sarpanchs in consensus. The Congress leaders are trying to ensure sarpanchs get elected unanimously in the ensuing elections.
VDCs try for unanimous elections by taking money from leaders and the amounts are used for the development of the village. Sometimes, the VDCs conduct open auctions for sarpanch posts to ensure unanimous elections.
The role of VDCs and their activities are high in Nirmal district compared to Adilabad, Mancherial and Korambheem Asifabad.
However, there are allegations that VDCs have become feudal entities and resort to social boycotting of lower castes if their decision is not followed by a community or people. So much so that they have become parallel to gram panchayats in villages. In most villages, gram panchayats are defunct while VDCs are super-active.
The VDCs conduct auctions for sand mining from local streams and rivulets and belt shops. District officials have failed to control the illegal activities of VDCs.
Rupesh Reddy of Bela said the VDC plays a key role in local politics and control the social system. “The recent Supreme Court’s judgment on unanimously electing representatives in elections may apply a break to the illegal activities of VDCs,” he observed.
